The A class as designated in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1890s. Some 42 vessels were constructed to the individual designs of their builders to meet Admiralty specifications, the only uniting feature being a specified top speed of . In fact the initial six vessels were generally differentiated by a slightly lower speed and were often referred to as "26-knotters" to distinguish them from the following batch of thirty-six vessels; all fifteen surviving "27-knotter" vessels were classified by the Admiralty as the A class in 1913 to provide some system to the naming of HM destroyers. All of the "26-knotters" and most of the "27-knotters" had been lost or scrapped before the 1913 classification (and so - strictly speaking - never survived to become 'A' class), but for convenience all 42 ships are listed below. The number of funnels varied from one to four. All vessels had a distinctive "turtleback" forecastle that was intended to clear water from the bow, but actually tended to dig the bow in to anything of a sea, resulting in a very wet conning position. They generally displaced around 260 tons and had a length of around . All were powered by triple expansion steam engines and had coal-fired water-tube boilers (although initially, some had "locomotive type" fire-tube boilers in lieu). Armament was generally one QF 12 pounder on a bandstand on the forecastle, up to five QF 6 pounder and 2 single tubes for torpedoes. The six 1892-93 Programme ships initially had a third tube in the bow, fixed to fire straight ahead, but this was found to weigh down the bows and it was possible for the ship to run over its own torpedo when moving at high speed, so these were later removed and this feature was not repeated in later vessels. Ships The 26-knotter group Six ships were ordered under the 1892-93 programme: destroyer; both built by John I. Thornycroft & Company, Chiswick. , launched 25 November 1893, sold for breaking up 10 April 1912. , launched 7 February 1894, sunk in collision with Arun 13 August 1904. ; both built by Yarrow Shipbuilders, Poplar. , launched 12 August 1893, sold for breaking up 14 May 1912. , launched 3 December 1893, sold for breaking up 12 October 1909. ; both built by Laird Brothers, Birkenhead. , launched 9